Before I Wake
by LauraCynthia
Summary: A mysterious chalk board message appears at a high school. Is it a subconcscious cry for help or a random occurrence? FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

Mrs. Fletcher looked around the rows of eager young faces in period 3  
Biology. She spied one, in particular.  
"Chrissie, will you please come up to the board and take these notes down  
for the class?"  
The girl mumbled something that sounded like, "Yeah." She shuffled over to  
Mrs. Fletcher's desk and accepted the piece of chalk from her hand. As she  
began to speak about what would be covered on the test they were going to  
have two weeks from now, Chrissie copied it down on the board in her neat,  
flowing handwriting. Since many of the students complained about not being  
able to read that of the teacher's, she had decided to let them write from  
now on.  
Finally, the writing was finished. "Chrissie, you can stop writing now,"  
Mrs. Fletcher said. She heard the sound of footsteps and assumed it was  
Chrissie; but the chalk did not stop. "Chrissie, you can stop now," she  
repeated. Still the sound of chalk. "Chrissie, you can-"  
"I already did," said Chrissie. Then Mrs. Fletcher watched as her face  
turned from innocence to horror. Those of the other students did the same.  
Mrs. Fletcher turned around in her chair to see what was going on.  
The chalk floated a good 5 feet above the ground in midair. Being written  
on the board were words "HELP BLOOD HELP ME BLOODBLOOD HELP PLEASE" Mrs.  
Fletcher watched until the chalk floated over to her desk and fell down two  
inches away from her hand. Then Chrissie fainted.  
  
Declan got out of the car. "I am being very generous with you. A whole 6  
inches of window space. Now don't try anything funny." He was, of course,  
talking to Mole. Mole shrugged in a dog shrug, whatever that looked like,  
and yawned.  
"Good idea. Naptime. Maybe sleep off those biscuits you eat too much of."  
Declan walked away, with a kind of lopsided gait. He had never been to  
Acorn Ridge High School before, but had heard of them in the news many  
times. Supposedly a lot of students from there went on to technical  
colleges. Anyhow, they were almost always in the headlines for some reason.  
This reason, however, was not your run-of-the-mill story.  
He walked into the main doors and looked at the front hallway. There were  
several framed photos from both local and out-of-state newspapers. The  
large sign said "Alumni Wall of Fame." He didn't recognize any of the  
photos, but they all seemed to be about either tech or sports. A new gene  
discovered here, a football victory there.  
Declan made his way to the front office. It was very large. The woman at  
the desk was covered in wrinkles, but probably because she smiled so much.  
Her hair was a crown of silver, with a few stray wisps here and there, and  
she was remarkably thin.  
The phone rang. She picked it up, and nodded for him to sit down. He did  
so. His office companions numbered one; a boy wearing a torn blue tee  
shirt. He ran his fingers through his wet spiky hair, then stared at  
Declan.  
"What're you in for?"  
"I'm not in here for anything, I'm a visitor."  
His upper lip curled up in surprise, then he said, " I'll just bet. "  
"No, really, I mean it."  
The secretary hung up the phone.  
"Are you looking for the guidance office?" she asked him.  
"No, I happen to be looking for a teacher. Name of Fletcher."  
"Oh, you mean Audrey? In Science? She's in room 103."  
"Where's that?"  
"Just down the hall; can't miss it."  
"Thanks." Declan turned around to leave. As he did, the kid gave him a  
sneer. Declan sneered back.  
Declan walked in the door. A student was sitting in one of the chairs,  
probably doing a re-test or something. She had brown hair, almost black,  
and was slightly chubby. She seemed very interested in her work.  
"Excuse me? Do you know Mrs. Fletcher?"  
The girl looked up. There was a small scar on her face, just above her left  
eyebrow.  
"Yeah. I'm in her class, actually. She's coming back in a minute; just had  
to photocopy something." The girl smiled. "You want to ask her about a mark  
or something?"  
"Why does everybody here think I'm a student?" Declan muttered under his  
breath. Then, to the girl, he said, "More like 'or something'. I'm a  
professor, from NOU. Ever heard of it?"  
"Heard of it? My friend's sister goes there! It's her first year, and she's  
obsessed! Jamie's always complaining to me how in her letters it's always  
'NOU this' and 'NOU that.' "  
Declan laughed. " Do I know her?"  
"Carmen Enzi."  
" No, it doesn't ring a bell. Sorry."  
The door opened. A tall woman walked in, clutching a gargantuan stack of  
papers. She had a blond bun, which made her look older than she was.  
"How's it coming along, Chrissie?"  
"Almost done. I just have four more questions to go."  
"Great." Then she noticed Declan. "Oh, do I know you? Let's see, 10 years  
ago.....grade 11 Bio?"  
"Sorry. Wrong guy."  
"Oh dear, I didn't mean to."  
"It's okay. That happens a lot around here. My name's Declan Dunn."  
"Audrey Fletcher." She tried to shake hands, but almost dropped the papers.  
"Oops, I forgot about these." She plopped them down on the desk, then  
extended her hand out to shake his.  
Declan took it. "I'm, uh, here because I heard about the little, incident  
you had here." He motioned towards the blackboard.  
"Yes, of course, that." She stared off into space for a few seconds. "It  
was quite traumatizing for a few of the students. Some of them didn't even  
come to class today."  
"I'm leaving now," Chrissie called. She picked up her bags and got up from  
her seat.  
"Just leave your paper on my desk." Chrissie did so and exited the room.  
"Any idea why it may have happened?" Declan asked Audrey.  
"No, nobody is really sure. There's a rumor going around that a student  
died in this room and his spirit haunts it. Of course it's all just silly  
stuff." She walked over to the window as if to look out, but then changed  
her mind and stood back to the pane. " I don't believe in ghosts."  
"Well, would you mind if me and a couple of friends checked it out? It's  
kind of a hobby for us."  
"I don't know. It might upset the students, and some of the parents  
wouldn't like it either."  
" Oh, it's all safe stuff. Don't worry, we aren't going to shoot them up  
with drugs or anything. Just look around the room. You know, observe. Like  
a science experiment."  
" When you put it that way.....I guess it might be worth a shot, if only to  
calm the kids' fears. What exactly did you have in mind?"  
  
Peggy heard the footsteps.  
"You know, maybe I ought to dig a moat around my office."  
"Nah, nothing that drastic. Just put in a doorbell." Declan walked in and  
flopped down onto the couch. " I've got a new assignment."  
Peggy looked up from her computer. "What is it this time? Did you find  
something weird in your fridge that you want the lab to test?"  
Declan stretched himself out and relaxed more. "Ever read the book "Matilda  
", by Roald Dahl?"  
"No, I can't say that I did."  
"Okay, there's this girl, see? Name's Matilda. Anyway, she has a bad  
start, but she's extremely bright. Her parents hate her, the principal of  
her school hates her, so what does she do?"  
"I give up; what does she do?"  
"She asks her teacher, who is actually the principal's niece, a few  
questions about her life at home when she was a child. Then, when the  
principal visits the class room, Matilda writes on the chalkboard that she  
knows the principal killed her teacher's father, and to give her back her  
house and money. The principal high-tails it out of there, of course."  
Peggy looked at him. "So what? She wrote on the chalkboard. How does that  
scare the principal?" She paused. " I'm assuming there's a catch to all  
this."  
"Oh, there is. She was doing it with her mind. Telekinesis."  
Peggy sighed. Another ghost thing. "Is that what happened to this teacher?"  
"Yeah. Except she's not a witch lady."  
"We've done this before."  
"Come on, Peg. That was just kid's stuff. Imagine what kind of incredible  
force must have to be exerted, what kind of concentration one must have to  
have in order to move anything, let alone a piece of chalk, with such  
precise movements. We are not talking random brain waves zapping anything  
in their path. We are talking skill. Accuracy. That just doesn't happen on  
its own. Those were words up there! Words! Not scribbles!"  
"All right, I understand. Some literate spirit is writing messages on the  
chalkboard." She sipped from a Coke can. "I suppose you want me to help  
out."  
Declan fiddled with his hands. " Well, for starters, you could arrange a  
field trip with the school to the hospital. They're starting a new project  
about brainwaves."  
"And I'm guessing that wasn't the teacher's idea," Peggy said dryly.  
"Actually, it was."  
Chrissie walked into the old house. It was filled with smoke. She coughed a  
little.  
" Who's there?" a drunk voice called out.  
"Chrissie."  
"Ah, come on up, Chris. We almost had to start the meeting without you."  
The owner of the voice coughed loudly, then rasped, "We're making the plan  
now." More coughs.  
Chrissie climbed the dirty staircase to the second floor. The hallway was  
strewn with dead cigarettes and dirty clothes.  
She paused before the door, and then walked in. The first thing she saw  
were 3 other girls. She knew them well. The next thing she saw was the bed.  
It was an old bed, and the mattress was sagging, but it still managed to  
hold their weight, and a lot more. There were sheets piled on the bed,  
mildewed beyond belief. She had to hold her nose because the stink of the  
sheets, along with alcohol and cigarette smoke was more than she could  
bear.  
"Well, did you get them?" She sat down on her coat instead of the bare  
sheets.  
"Yeah, we got tons." Jamie had spiked red hair that climbed up the back of  
her head like a grotesque caterpillar. "Look." She pulled back the sheets  
to reveal 4 pistols, a steak knife, and a pocket knife.  
"Where did you get them from?"  
"My dad has a bunch of these. He won't miss these 4. As for the knives,  
one's from the kitchen, the other from my brother's camping gear." Kiley  
spoke. Her blond hair was cropped short like a boy's and she wore blue  
contacts.  
Chrissie picked up a pistol. She felt it, cool in her hand, like a slick  
pipe. "They're just for protection, right? I mean, we aren't actually going  
to shoot anybody, are we?"  
"Nah," Nisha spat. She ran her fingers through her wet, brown locks. "It's  
just in case anybody gets too close."  
Chrissie looked down at the gun again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Declan walked into the classroom, 2 weeks later. It was first period. All  
the students stared at him. He looked around the room and saw Chrissie. She  
smiled at him. It was a smile of recognition. He took a seat at the front  
of the class.  
Miranda was not very far behind. She had a light brown bag slung across her  
right shoulder (she was experimenting with color, but so far wasn't going  
too far just yet) and her makeup was less drastic; she actually looked  
alive.  
"Class, class, quiet down." Audrey waved her hands to silence them. "We are  
going to leave in five minutes. Did everyone clear their absence today with  
their other teachers?"  
There was a chorus of 'Yes' from the whole class. Audrey continued.  
"Before we leave, I would like to introduce you to the chaperones on this  
trip. This is Declan-" she pointed to him. He sat up taller in the chair. "-  
and this is Miranda." Miranda waved slightly.  
The intercom buzzed. "Mrs. Fletcher?"  
"Yes?" she called.  
"The bus is waiting for your class."  
"I'll be there in a minute." She turned back to the class. "Any  
questions?" Dead silence. "All right, then, let's go."  
The class got up in a clutter of chairs. Miranda made her way out the door,  
and started chatting with a girl who had a ring in her nose about some  
science thing. Declan walked over to Audrey.  
"So, how's it been going? Any more incidents?"  
She grabbed her jacket and walked beside him. "Well, it's hardly worth  
mentioning, but.."  
"But what?"  
"It's just that I'd be sitting in the room, with this class, and I'd put my  
pen on the desk, and go off to do something, and when I come back, it would  
be somewhere else. Or I'd leave a piece of paper somewhere, and it would  
move."  
"Were the windows open at any time?"  
"No, it's cold outside. I only open them in warm weather."  
Declan scratched his beard. "Could it be one of the students?"  
"I suppose, but I usually get another teacher to watch over them when I  
have to leave the room. And it's the same teacher. He never sits at the  
desk, just walks around the room."  
"Did he ever tell you that he noticed something funny?"  
"No, but I don't think he would have unless it was something important.  
Like somebody fooling around."  
The bus was sitting at the curb in front of the school. Audrey went in, and  
a few straggler students did too. By the time Declan got on the bus, there  
was only one seat left that he could see. He walked down to the back and  
sat down in it. It was the aisle side. As he turned around to look at his  
seatmate, he realized it was the boy he had seen in the office.  
"So, you're not a student." The boy was wearing the same shirt, and Declan  
could tell he probably hadn't washed it since that day.  
"No, I'm not." Declan tried to look around the bus so he could do anything  
but talk to that kid. He dreaded the thought that he might one day find him  
in one of his classes. He spied Miranda near the front of the bus. She was  
sitting with the girl she'd been talking to in the hall. They were talking  
still.  
He saw Audrey in the seat across from him. She was on the window side,  
talking to a boy about some overdue project. The boy listened to her  
intently, eating up all her words.  
Declan's seatmate burped. His breath smelled like one of Miranda's science  
experiments. What was this kid eating? "Oh man." Declan sat back in his  
seat. It was going to be one long bus ride.  
  
The class walked into the Diagnostics lab at the hospital. A young nurse  
was waiting for them. She had short raven hair and tan skin. In her arms  
she carried a folder of sheets.  
"Hello, and you are the grade 11 Biology class from Acorn Ridge?"  
"Yes, I'm Mrs. Fletcher, and these are my students."  
"Very good. Now, before we begin, I need to check the files for your names  
and records. They're a little like a criminal rap sheet, only it's  
accidents instead of crimes. Don't worry, you won't get in trouble if  
you've been here more often than your classmates." The students laughed.  
"For those of you who have never been here before, I need to get some  
information from you. Oh, and by the way, my name is Shelley, just so you  
know."  
Shelley went through the list of students. Some had been there many times  
for treatments for things like asthma and diabetes. Others had the classic  
"broken-arm-and-tonsil-removal" childhood. Still others lived a charmed  
life. The kids compared injuries and illnesses, not unlike senior citizens  
would.  
She came to the last name on the list. "Christina Vermilion?" she called.  
Chrissie walked over to her. As she came closer, the nurse frowned, as if  
trying to remember something, then studied her for a minute.  
"Vermilion...oh, I think I recognize you. The fainter? October 1st?"  
"Yeah," Chrissie said, "you got me. Guilty as charged." Although she meant  
it as a joke, Declan noticed there was some uneasiness in her voice, and  
she winced when she said 'guilty'.  
"I never forget a face. It's a talent of mine." She handed Chrissie her  
record, then sat up at the front of the classroom.  
"Okay, now who can tell me what EEG stands for?" Shelley asked.  
A boy in the back of the class raised his hand.  
"Yes?"  
"It stands for Elec-electer-" He stumbled on the word.  
"ElectroEncephaloGram, genius, weren't you listening in class?" the boy  
with bad breath (his name was Sam) said. The class laughed.  
"Anyway, who knows what the machine does? Yes?"  
"It measures brainwaves coming from your head and draws them on paper."  
"Looks like you taught them well," Shelley remarked. "Most of the classes I  
get in here are just starting their projects. These tests are performed on  
a person for many different reasons. Can you name some of them?"  
The class buzzed with answers.  
"If they might have a tumor."  
"If they had a stroke."  
"Epileptics."  
"To see whether they are emitting waves that might possibly explain  
poltergeist-like activity."  
"Who said that?"  
"Huh?"  
All eyes were on Declan. He coughed.  
"Hey, can't I be in on this?"  
"This is for the students. And you're a teacher." Miranda said.  
"Not their teacher."  
"No difference."  
"Awwwww.."  
"Now, let's get back to the serious side of things." Shelley continued her  
discourse.  
Declan heard the door open and close behind him. He turned around, and saw  
Peggy. She had snuck in to the room.  
"What're you doing here?" he whispered to her softly.  
She held up a paper cup. "Coffee break," she said, and sat down on a  
plastic chair beside him. A few minutes passed.  
  
"Now," Shelley was saying, "I'm going to take you all to the room where we  
perform these tests. Most of you will have to wait outside when we do the  
actual tests themselves, but you can all come in for the demonstration.  
Let's go."  
Everybody got up and followed her to a white painted room. There was a  
small bed in the corner, and the EEG stood on the right of it. Electrodes  
dangled from the machine like fishing lures. Declan stood near the back of  
the crowd with the other two so the students could see.  
"We need a volunteer to show everybody how it's done, and I was hoping it  
would be one of the adults." Shelley scanned the crowd.  
"I'll do it." Declan raised his hand.  
"Well, we have a brave guy in the audience today folks." Shelley said.  
"Climb up on the bed."  
He did so, rather awkwardly. The bed shook. Declan blushed slightly.  
"I've been meaning to lose that since Christmas."  
Titters from the kids.  
Shelley attached the electrodes to his forehead, one by one, then started  
up the machine. It made a whirring noise.  
Declan watched as the waves were traced out onto the paper. After 2  
minutes, Shelley shut it off. She looked down at the page for a minute,  
then said, "Looks like he's normal."  
"Despite what some of my friends say." Declan remarked.  
More laughs. Peggy laughed, too, and even Miranda cracked a wry smile.  
"I've been trying to prove that for years. Now I have scientific proof."  
" Everybody except... Ranny Allen, leave the room. As for you, you're  
first." Shelley said. A short brown skinned girl tied her hair back in a  
ponytail to keep it out of her face.  
The other students left. There were plenty of chairs, but not enough, so  
most of the students just stood around and talked. Two supply carts sat  
across the hall from them. It was a quiet section of hospital.  
Suddenly, one of the carts moved. A few kids looked up, but quickly lost  
interest. Then the other one moved. Again, a few people looked over at  
them, but turned around again.  
Declan watched it with more interest, as did Miranda. Peggy was speaking  
with Audrey.  
"Look," he breathed. Miranda stared.  
A roll of bandages flew out of the cart. It floated over to Audrey. Peggy  
stepped back, amazed. The bandages unwound, very fast, and started to wrap  
around the teacher. Audrey let out a scream.  
The kids weren't watching that. Most were too busy trying to dodge the  
carts themselves, as they tore after the kids. If it hadn't been happening  
to them, it would have been funny.  
Declan couldn't believe it. Audrey's face was now wrapped up by bandages.  
She couldn't breathe, almost. Peggy tried to pull them off of her, but got  
pushed away by an unseen force.  
Shelley poked her head out the door. "What is going on?"  
Chrissie was watching too. She stared at the spectacle. All of a sudden,  
her face went ghostly white. She looked incredibly concentrated, then her  
face loosened up, and everything stopped. She sank to the floor like a bird  
dying in flight.  
"Help! We need somebody over here!" Declan yelled.  
"Help!" Miranda called. Peggy sat by Chrissie, trying to help. Shelley  
checked her pulse. Two doctors pushed a gurney into the hall at lightning  
speed.  
"Pulse is rapid and strong," Shelley informed them.  
One doctor looked at the other. "Hey, Bill, I know this kid. She was the  
fainter from before. Ver something. Remember?"  
"Vermilion." Declan supplied.  
"Yeah, that's it." They lifted her onto the gurney, then raced towards  
Emergency. Shelley was not far behind.  
"It happened again. I don't believe it." Declan could see Audrey and the  
kids. Some were crying, others just stared. Audrey was weeping  
hysterically. Peggy was talking to her, trying to calm her down.  
Miranda was studying the wall. "Declan, come see this," she called.  
He walked over to the wall and looked where she was pointing. There were  
cracks in the wall. "These weren't here before."  
He looked closer. The cracks were in the shape of a gun.  
"Definitely not your average student," Declan said. 


	3. Chapter 3

Declan walked over to the viewing window at Chrissie's hospital room. She  
was sleeping, and was connected to a bunch of machines.  
"They're just for safety reasons." Peggy came over and stood beside him.  
"We do this for everybody we're worried about. "  
"She'll probably stay here for a night or two, then go back to school."  
That was Miranda.  
"How would you know that?" Declan asked.  
"It's the same thing that happened before."  
"Huh-wait a minute, they-Shelley and the doctors-called her 'the fainter'.  
Was she the one who keeled over in class?"  
"That's right." Miranda pulled a folder out of her bag. "Read these."  
"This is her file. How'd you get this?"  
"It's not as hard as you think. She dropped her file copy when she fell."  
Declan leafed through the papers. "No, that's last year..broken  
arm..sprained ankle....ahh, here we are. October 3rd. Came in for a  
fainting spell. Out 20 minutes. Not much unusual about that."  
" Not at first glance. Do you remember what happened on October 3rd?"  
"Oh, yeah....I had a dentist appointment."  
Miranda sighed. "Declan, that was the day the message appeared on the  
board."  
"Chrissie? She wrote that. That was her?"  
"I also obtained a copy of her tests on that day. She already had an EEG  
that day."  
"I suppose she dropped that too."  
"That's beside the point. See? It shows high levels of brain activity. The  
hospital kept her for two days, and then she returned to school. Her test  
before they discharged her were perfectly normal."  
Declan thought for a moment. "That's strange. The message, I mean. Blood?  
What was that all about?"  
"Maybe she just watched a scary movie last night." Peggy suggested. "Your  
mind can do strange things when you're scared."  
"I don't think she'd be affected like that."  
"Well, then what else could it be?"  
A middle-aged woman walked down the hallway. She was tired looking, as  
though she'd just gotten up after a long nap. Her eyes were violet colored,  
but not mean, and she had brown hair that was just shy of touching her  
back.  
"Are you a doctor?" she asked Declan.  
"You've got it all wrong. He needs a doctor. I'm Peggy Fowler, and you're  
Chrissie's mother?"  
"No, her aunt. Her parents died before she was 1. I was given charge of  
her. How is she?"  
"She's resting now. Everything should play out the same as last time."  
"Good. I'm so worried about Christina. She really feels upset about not  
knowing them. I show her pictures, but it's just not the same. And now she  
goes out, for hours, and I don't even know where she is."  
"When did this start?" Declan asked.  
"Oh, it didn't really start at any one time. Last year, she was really  
lonely. All her friends were off at Breakwater, but she got accepted to  
Acorn. I told her she was lucky, but she asked me what lucky really meant.  
I couldn't answer her.  
" Then in April, it all changed. She stopped coming home after school  
early, and when I asked her where she'd been, she didn't answer. Her  
clothes smelled like cigarette smoke. The next day, it happened again. And  
she's been like that ever since. Not really quiet until I asked her about  
what she did. Then she'd change the subject."  
"Typical. You know, leaving all your friends behind can be pretty  
traumatic, especially in the adolescent years." Peggy said. "Why don't you  
go home and rest? This has been a long month for you. She'll be fine, and  
you can visit her in the morning."  
"You think I should?" She was kind of shaky.  
"Yes, you really need to sleep. I can tell you've been up late these last  
few nights."  
"It's that obvious?" She laughed. "I suppose you're right." She shifted  
her gaze to the window, then back again. "If she'll be alright, I guess so.  
Thanks." She headed down the hallway, leaving the group wondering at this  
new information.  
"Hmmmm.." Declan said. "Troubled kid gets depressed, can't share her  
feelings, so where does it go?"  
"On a board." Miranda said.  
"But there's still one thing I don't get. All that 'blood' stuff."  
"I think I might have an explanation for that." Peggy said "When you're  
depressed, you tend to think of your own mortality. You wonder what comes  
after life. You think maybe there's no reason to live if nothing happens  
when you're gone."  
"Are we talking suicide here? Chrissie doesn't seem like he type to me.  
When I saw her in the classroom, she was smiling, and in a good mood."  
"Maybe she was hiding her feelings."  
"You don't get it. Unless Chrissie's a Vulcan with gas, I don't see how she  
can hide her feelings so well."  
"Or she's a really good actress. I've seen it before."  
"Whatever she is, we still have to figure out what's going on. She's trying  
to tell us something, and we have to find out what it is."  
"Us?"  
"Not us specifically, but someone. All I know is, we have to figure out why  
this is going on." He paused a little.  
Miranda walked over to look in the window again, and knocked into Declan.  
He dropped a notepad he was carrying. Loose sheets spilled onto the floor.  
"Oh, sorry," she said. She bent over to help him, and they both picked up  
the papers. They were just notes for lectures, mostly, and a few reminders  
to himself.  
"Wait a minute..what's this?" He picked up a sheet. On it was written  
'Help!' There was a picture of a knife dripping in blood drawn on it. "I  
didn't write this."  
"It's in your handwriting." Peggy took it from Declan's hands.  
"But I didn't write this."  
"Then maybe one of your students is well versed in the fine art of  
forgery."  
"Weird." Declan looked at it again.  
"You probably just had something at the back of your mind, and you doodled  
on the page. Happens all the time."  
"I've noticed that about a lot of things you say. But you're probably  
right."  
  
"Where are we going to do it?"  
"I already told you, the school. Mark promised we'd be paid well."  
"Somebody's going to notice. Computers don't just disappear for no reason."  
"Oh, Chrissie, don't be such a wimp. You agreed to do this weeks ago. I  
should have never let you join. It's only because you can get the-"  
"So, we're not going to shoot anyone?"  
"We've already been through this. They're just for protection." Kiley  
groaned. "Are you in? You can back out if you're-"  
"I'm in. No going back." 


	4. Chapter 4

Declan sipped his coffee. He couldn't believe that it was all for nothing.  
Chrissie had to have some sort of message. It was completely crazy to think  
that she was doing it for absolutely no reason at all.  
He flipped through some notes he had been writing for the next day's  
lecture. There wasn't much done, and he knew he had to finish it that  
night, but he just couldn't concentrate. It was like something was telling  
him not to get too involved in it. Something like his subconscious mind,  
probably, saying, "You need the sleep!"  
The cup was nearly drained; it was his 6th. Right about now, he had to go  
to the bathroom. Pushing his chair away from his desk, he left the notes  
behind. "I'll get to you later," he said. Mole was sleeping on the couch in  
the office, and Declan knew he'd likely have to disturb him so he could  
sleep there himself.  
After relieving himself, he walked over to the sink and splashed water in  
his face. It was cold, and he shivered slightly. He stared in the mirror. A  
red eyed, tired, surprisingly old-looking face stared back at him.  
"Is that me?" He looked a little longer, then opened the door. As he  
exited, he looked down to make sure there was no toilet paper stuck to his  
foot.  
When he opened the door, Mole was awake. He yawned at Declan from his perch  
on the couch.  
"Exactly." Declan sat back down and tried to concentrate on his notes  
again.  
  
"How did you get the keys?"  
"My aunt is a janitor for the school. She has them."  
Chrissie opened the door and walked in. "It's so creepy at night."  
"Aww, just go on to the classroom."  
Chrissie walked down the hall, and let herself into the classroom. She  
scanned the dark room with her flashlight. Finally she saw the filing  
cabinet. She walked over to it and used another key to unlock the filing  
cabinet. Pulling it out, she opened a drawer and flipped past some other  
stuff, then picked out a page.  
"Test questions." She pulled out the rest of the sheets and then turned to  
the girls.  
  
Declan yawned. He and Mole had been having a yawning marathon for the last  
10 minutes; it was a vicious(not very though) cycle. "How am I going to  
finish this?" He curled up in his chair and yawned again.  
  
"Do you hear that?"  
"It's someone coming down the hall!"  
Chrissie dropped the papers, and they splayed out on the ground.  
"Guns!"  
"Chrissie, pick it up!"  
Chrissie ran down the hall, clutching the papers. Her heart beat like an  
achy head. She ran off around a corner. Ahead of the girls, Chrissie  
shivered behind the wall.  
Kiley passed the corner. The other girls followed.  
Suddenly Chrissie dropped her gun. The metal crashed on the floor, and  
echoed through the halls.  
"What was that?"  
"We're going to get caught!"  
"Shoot it!"  
A shot rang out. It hit Chrissie in the left shoulder. The girls did not  
recognize her voice in the cry of pain.  
"Let's go!" They had forgotten about the questions.  
Chrissie crumpled to the floor, not in a faint. "Help!" There was blood all  
around her. She pressed the paper to her wound, the only thing she had  
loose. "Help!"  
  
"Help!"  
Declan woke up with a start. He looked at the clock. 3:00 am. I have to  
concentrate on the notes, he thought to himself. He looked down at his  
notepad.  
On it was written, again, Help!  
His head started to ache. Help, help, what was that from, help.....  
He knew in an instant. But it wasn't St. Nick.  
  
Chrissie opened her eyes. How long have I been lying here? she wondered.  
Her shoulder still ached like crazy. She tried to sit up but couldn't.  
Help. She pleaded silently for someone to help her.  
Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the blood had dried on her clothes,  
as more came out. She laid back and waited to die, as she thought she would  
probably do. She passed out...  
  
Declan parked the car on the curb. He didn't even think about getting  
ticketed. He opened the car door quickly and ran out, shutting it behind  
him.  
As he came up to the door, he noticed that it was unlocked. He opened it  
and ran through.  
It was a lot harder navigating through the hallways in the dark, but Declan  
eventually found room 103. He turned the lights on and looked around.  
Nothing.  
  
He was just about to leave when a piece of chalk flew by him, skimming his  
face, only inches away. It fell to the floor with a crack.  
Declan looked over behind the teacher's desk and saw Chrissie. She was  
lying face up on the ground. Her shoulder was still bleeding. He ran over  
and sat down beside her. Whipping out a cell phone, he dialed 3 numbers.  
  
"How'd you know I was there?" a conscious Chrissie asked Declan. She was  
sitting up in a hospital bed, with her left arm in a sling. Peggy and  
Miranda were sitting nearby, and Audrey was standing at the door. The room  
was filled with flowers and cards.  
"Let's just say, that you told me so."  
"I did all that?"  
"Yup. Or rather, your subconscious mind did all that."  
"What's going to happen to the girls and me?" Chrissie pushed some of her  
hair out of her face.  
"Well, since this is a first time offence, and you know, you did intend to  
steal the papers, you'll probably be let off easy. Maybe a few weeks in  
jail. Not even that, possibly. They'll face more serious charges, what with  
the gun. At least, that's what I was told." Declan sipped more coffee.  
"Best thing about this is, I had a legitimate excuse to cancel that  
lecture. I had my students do some studying instead. More time for me."  
"Mrs. Fletcher? I'm really sorry about attacking you with those bandages."  
"Never mind. Life is an adventure." Audrey said.  
Peggy smiled. "You know, she's even stranger than we thought. Not only can  
she move objects around, she can predict the future."  
"That's me, multitalented."  
Declan put his coffee cup on Chrissie's nightstand. "Definitely weird. But  
at least it's a good kind of weird."  
Chrissie yawned. "This hospital food is really good. Donut?"  
"Sure." He looked up.  
Miranda, Peggy and Audrey started laughing. Chrissie joined in.  
"What? Do I have something on my face?"  
Miranda had to bite her tongue to stop laughing long enough to say,  
"Declan, look."  
He looked. Floating 5 inches away from it was a chocolate donut.  
"Yeeesh," he shuddered in mock fear. "Now that's service. Can you juggle  
too?"  
Laughter. 


End file.
